Youth Rifle

[alberta hunter]

My 12 year old son just passed his hunter training course and I was looking for recommendations for what Cal. I should be looking at for his Rifle? Thanks

[roper1]

Depending on what he's going to hunt, 7mm-08 works pretty good with mild recoil.

Remember all the .22 practice in between.

[cliface]

.243 is a fairly decent round with low recoil round usually. But just about any rifle will work. I would recomend a savage axis 11/111 in .270. that's what I got my son.


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[Ranger CS]

For deer sized game and under, a .243 is a great first rifle. It is every bit as good as the over rated, "as a hunting cartridge" Creedmore, at least up to 300 yards. As a beginner, I doubt he will be shooting beyond that distance, or in my opinion shouldn't be. It is very important not to over recoil a young shooter. It is so easy to acquire a flinch and so difficult to get rid of it. I also agree the 7-08 would also be a good choice as would be a 25.06.

[vance]

I agree that 7mm-08 seems great for a new youth hunter. However, I cast a vote for 6.5x55. This was my son's first caliber, and he killed a lot of game with it, without noticing any recoil. There is MUCH less choice in factory ammo selection, however.
If you can find a rifle that suits in 7mm-08, get it, but think about the Swede!

Plus, its more than 100 years old....
Vance

[Ranger CS]

Originally Posted by roper1

Depending on what he's going to hunt, 7mm-08 works pretty good with mild recoil.

Remember all the .22 practice in between.

Great advice Roper, to shoot well, one needs to shoot as much as possible.
A .22 is cheap to shoot, has no recoil and is a great way to learn how to handle and shoot a rifle. As with any skill, practice, practice, practice!

[Ranger CS]

Originally Posted by vance

I agree that 7mm-08 seems great for a new youth hunter. However, I cast a vote for 6.5x55. This was my son's first caliber, and he killed a lot of game with it, without noticing any recoil. There is MUCH less choice in factory ammo selection, however.
If you can find a rifle that suits in 7mm-08, get it, but think about the Swede!

Plus, its more than 100 years old....
Vance

I would also endorse the 6.5X55. Another great cartridge, especially for youth.

[JTRED]

I bought my girls a Savage Axis Youth in 7mm-08rem. Great little gun and a spectacular cartridge. Low recoil, enough bullet for pretty much anything you might wish to hunt, and being a Savage shoots well(it's just a little bit ugly but considering how inexpensive they are you get over it) Both girls shoot it well and so far the youngest has taken a whitetail and a mule deer, both nice first bucks and both one shot kills. The older likes to shoot but not the hunting part.
I've packed it on a number of backpack trips for elk or mule deer just to see how it stands up. Very handy compact mountain rifle, with the shorter LOP, short action, and a 20" barrel it comes a full 3.5" shorter than all my other hunting rifles. A bit short for me but being such a mild mannered round I'm not too worried about getting scoped. I left the package scope on it and so far that hasn't been an issue either. I didn't really want to spend a whole bunch of money on something they may or may not take to. Plus it'll make a nice little project gun for me if they lose interest.

[JTRED]

I bought my girls a Savage Axis Youth in 7mm-08rem. Great little gun and a spectacular cartridge. Low recoil, enough bullet for pretty much anything you might wish to hunt, and being a Savage shoots well(it's just a little bit ugly but considering how inexpensive they are you get over it) Both girls shoot it well and so far the youngest has taken a whitetail and a mule deer, both nice first bucks and both one shot kills. The older likes to shoot but not the hunting part.
I've packed it on a number of backpack trips for elk or mule deer just to see how it stands up. Very handy compact mountain rifle, with the shorter LOP, short action, and a 20" barrel it comes a full 3.5" shorter than all my other hunting rifles. A bit short for me but being such a mild mannered round I'm not too worried about getting scoped. I left the package scope on it and so far that hasn't been an issue either. I didn't really want to spend a whole bunch of money on something they may or may not take to. Plus it'll make a nice little project gun for me if they lose interest.

[darren32]

Hodgdon has some info on reduced loads for H4895

https://www.hodgdon.com/wp-content/u...850.1583069682

I just got my son a Weatherby Vanguard Youth in 308. We have loaded up a couple of different 125 grain projectiles with 28 grains of H4895. They should be very light, I am thinking around 2,000 FPS. Should be lots of room to go up from there. Unfortunately we have not been able to get out and shoot them yet.

Good luck and have fun.

[Scottmisfits]

243, 308, 6.5, 7-08, etc. Lot's of great choices. More important would be the rifle. I'd stay away from something like an Axis. For not much more you can get a 700 Youth and it will have infinite possibilities, triggers, stocks, etc. Just whatever you do, get a decent optic and have it set up properly.They won't hit what they can't see.

And in between the larger bore stuff, a 22 is great. I'm shifting away from semi's and favoring more to the bolt action side of things there as well. It forces you to focus more on the fundamentals and less on just pulling the trigger.

Just as a side note, my son was pretty stout for his age but he was shooting 12g and 30-06/308 at 9. He was comfortable being my buddies 7mm Rem Mag by the time he was 11.

[357Maximum]

Rifle fit then a mild recoiling cartridge

[WillyOneStyle]

Originally Posted by Ranger CS

Great advice Roper, to shoot well, one needs to shoot as much as possible.
A .22 is cheap to shoot, has no recoil and is a great way to learn how to handle and shoot a rifle. As with any skill, practice, practice, practice!

I have to get behind this advise as well. I went to the Sportsmen's Den and told them I wanted to do a lot more target shooting. They said a .22 was by far the cheapest way to do this.

Also, it never hurts for Dad to get a couple of spare guns for the boy to borrow and get the feel of. Good luck convincing your Mrs.

[spoiledsaskhunter]

Originally Posted by JTRED

I bought my girls a Savage Axis Youth in 7mm-08rem. Great little gun and a spectacular cartridge. Low recoil, enough bullet for pretty much anything you might wish to hunt, and being a Savage shoots well(it's just a little bit ugly but considering how inexpensive they are you get over it) Both girls shoot it well and so far the youngest has taken a whitetail and a mule deer, both nice first bucks and both one shot kills. The older likes to shoot but not the hunting part.
I've packed it on a number of backpack trips for elk or mule deer just to see how it stands up. Very handy compact mountain rifle, with the shorter LOP, short action, and a 20" barrel it comes a full 3.5" shorter than all my other hunting rifles. A bit short for me but being such a mild mannered round I'm not too worried about getting scoped. I left the package scope on it and so far that hasn't been an issue either. I didn't really want to spend a whole bunch of money on something they may or may not take to. Plus it'll make a nice little project gun for me if they lose interest.

we believed you the first time you said it!

[Desert Eagle]

I started my wife out with a 7mm-08 youth rifle. It was a bit much for recoil. We finally ended up with a 25-06 That she was nervous to try, once she did she has never looked back. One thing I found with the youth guns are typically the short barrels make for quite a bit of muzzle blast that can be quite startling. I would suggest some trigger time on a 17 rim fire or 223 or something like that to show them the blast is just part of it. My suggestion is 243, 250 savage, 257 or 25-06, 6.5 creedmoor or x55 or a 260 rem. They are very effective if used properly and recoil is very low.

[Stinky Coyote]

ideal would be setting up similar rifles, .22lr and then a short action centerfire, just take the centerfire for big game, rest of the time they shoot the .22lr...no flinches develop and when it's on big game they shoot very well and don't even remember the shot

several manufacturers have very similar .22's to their short action counterparts, scope em same, set up same, if can find both with adjustable lop's then even better, grow with them, same rigs

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by alberta hunter

My 12 year old son just passed his hunter training course and I was looking for recommendations for what Cal. I should be looking at for his Rifle? Thanks

So, is your son 4'5" 80 Lbs or 5'8" 150. Do you reload or are you restricted to factory ammo. Both make a heck of a big difference. If you hand load you can download anything to a level that will make recoil a non-issue and it will dramatically reduce noise and muzzle blast. If stuck with factory there are still a number of cartridges that come in recoil reduced loads.

Couple of things, the noise bothers most shooters as much or more than the recoil. Get a rifle with at least a 22" barrel, 24" is better. Make sure they start out using both earplugs and muffs at the same time. Get a rifle that is at least 7.5 Lbs before scope and sling. You can order a Boyd's stock with adjustable comb and Length of pull for most of the popular brands of rifle. This makes adjustments as he grows far easier.

Do not move up to a centerfire until he is very comfortable, safe and shooting well with a 22 RF. If you can follow the 22 RF with a 223 for target shooting that is a great beginning. Working up to the larger guns, especially with someone so young, has proven to work well. Best of luck.

[brendan's dad]

I purchased Brendan a Tikka T3 in 260 rem. Found a factory stock forsale and modified it by removing 7/8 inched on the LOP, filling it will window foam and then installing a limbsaver recoil pad. Did up some 85 grain sierra's for practice and yotes and hunting with 130 grain Accubonds.

[buckman]

My son started out at 12 with my Mod 70 in .270. He never had an issue with the recoil. Make sure it fits him and coach him on correct cheek weld. Once he gets used to the gun it will be good for all the big game here in Alberta.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by roper1

Depending on what he's going to hunt, 7mm-08 works pretty good with mild recoil.

Remember all the .22 practice in between.

this....7-08 will take any game in north America and if he wants later to get another rifle then he will have two which is a good thing...the .22lr is a must as it is the greatest cartridge ever developed....plinking makes perfect and is cheap to do so.

[boharchery]

My son is 11 and I got him a 7mm08 and he handles the kick fine. Hopping to get him a bear with it this spring


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[mtnhunter]

Honestly, it all depends on the gun build itself, the size of your child and how they plan to hunt (tripod/bipod, prone, offhand). We couldn't afford a second rifle for my son when he turned 12 and he used my 270WSM with a muzzle brake off a tripod and has had no issue. There is a little bit of recoil (not bad) and he has now successfully shot two whitetails in his first 2 years of hunting.

[Rvsask]

I bought my oldest son a .243. I was impressed at how it absolutely dropped his first buck, a huge bodied whitetail in it's tracks. The nest year he grabbed my .270 as I handed my youngest the .243. The .243 performed flawlessly and the .270 was no problem for the second year hunter.

Truth be told, from what I've seen from the .243 on a few bucks and does, I grab it now if I'm heading out alone.

[sns2]

No bad recommendations that I see. I started my kids out with a 7-08 with reduced loads. Worked just fine.

In these troubled times, I would strongly suggest buying off an Alberta owned and operated company like Prophet River. Clayton Smiley is a site sponsor, and deserves our patronage.


Here are two really good choices. I would lean toward the Weatherby.

https://store.prophetriver.com/remin...pad-mfg-27475/

https://store.prophetriver.com/weath...djustable-lop/